Less than 24 hours before former Trump fixer Michael Cohen is scheduled to appear in an open hearing to discuss his relationship with the President of the United States and shed light on his involvement in a hush money scheme involving two women alleging they had affairs with the billionaire businessman, Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz directly threatened Cohen via Twitter.
"Hey @MichaelCohen212," Gaetz tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. "Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot..."
Gaetz offered zero proof for his claims of infidelity by Cohen. Speaking to reporters outside his office Tuesday evening, Gaetz defended his tweet, adding that it wasn't a threat. He told reporters his tweet wasn't witness-tampering, but instead was "witness-testing." Gaetz said he's trying to get into Wednesday's hearing to ask questions (he's not on the House Oversight Committee), and he added that he didn't speak with Trump about his allegations.
In an interview with CBS News after the tweet, Gaetz was pressed for evidence of the claim he hinted at on his Twitter feed and he replied: "As the President loves to say, 'We'll see.' "
